Collective Soul

By Ramona Flume and Sam Sumpter | Photos by Chisum Pierce

Published: March 28, 2016

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Sharon Hope​ Weintraub

Bathing BeautiesSince 1966, Sharon Hope Weintraub, 60, has collected bathing beauties and naughty novelties—everything from mermaids and harem ladies to squirters and flippers (fully dressed females that flip over to reveal that they’ve forgotten to put on their underwear). Weintraub says she loves to collect these figurines from the 1800s to the 1950s because they reflect women’s changing roles in society. “Women didn’t just have to be the domestic goddess anymore,” she says. “They could literally cast off their corsets and swim and play and do whatever they liked. It’s about throwing off the restraints of an older generation and the prudishness of past societies.”

Collecting Since: 1966

Collection Size: It varies. Weintraub is regularly buying and selling figurines, so the number fluctuates.